SU women look to stop slide vs. Pitt

Stephen D. Cannerelli / The Post-StandardSyracuse's Carmen Tyson-Thomas battles for a rebound against Notre Dame's Erica Williamson, a former Rochester resident, on Saturday in the Carrier Dome. SU lost 74-73.

Having lost four of its last five Big East games, the Syracuse women's basketball team travels to Pittsburgh to take on the Panthers Tuesday night in the Petersen Events Center.

The Panthers also have gotten off to to rough conference start, losing their first five league games before beating Providence and then suffering the wrath of Connecticut on Saturday.

Last year: Pitt def. SU 77-75 in the Carrier Dome. Trailing by five points with 1½ minutes remaining, SU tied the score, only to see the Panthers’ Xenia Stewart hit a game-winning jumper with 1 second left.

Local connection: Pitt fifth-year senior Sophronia Sallard, who graduated from Syracuse’s Nottingham High School, was suspended indefinitely for undisclosed disciplinary reasons two weeks ago and has not played since. Sallard started the final 19 games of the season for Pitt last year. Before being suspended this year, she had played in 12 games, starting twice and averaging 21 minutes, 6.4 points and 2.9 rebounds.

The skinny: This is a battle between two struggling teams that began the season with great promise. The Panthers were ranked 20th in the AP poll at the start of the Big East season, while SU climbed as high as 22nd in the ESPN/USA Today. Pitt, however, lost its first five league games before finally getting its lone win (over Providence). Syracuse has continued to be snakebit by close games, losing four of its five Big East games by a total of eight points. Last year, the Orange lost four of six Big East games decided by two points or less.

Stephen D. Cannerelli / The Post-StandardSyracuse's Juanita Ward goes up for a shot against Notre Dame on Saturday in the Carrier Dome. She had 16 points in SU's 74-73 loss and leads the Orange in conference scoring average at 13.3 points per game.

Who’s hot: At the mid-point of Big East play, Ward leads SU in conference scoring (13.3 points), is second in rebounds (6.5) behind Michael (7.4) and is third in minutes played (25.9) behind Morrow (31.6) and Michael (28.1). Ward has scored in double figures in six of eight conference games.

Record watch: Michael needs only 19 points to pass Julie McBride as SU’s career scoring leader.

Still hurting: SU backup point guard Lynnae Lampkins is expected to miss her second straight game with a strained groin muscle.

Around the league: Notre Dame completed a sweep of its two-game road trip by following up on its close victory over Syracuse with a 75-63 win at Rutgers on Monday. The Irish (20-1, 7-1) saw five players score in double figures, led by freshman sensation Skylar Diggins with 14. Rutgers dropped to 12-10 overall and 4-4 in the Big East.

Tourney watch: At the halfway point of the Big East schedule, SU's RPI ranking is doing nothing to help it come post-season tournament time. The Orange's RPI is 112, ranking 14th out of Big East teams. Syracuse has been helped by wins over Rutgers (22) and Louisville (56), but has suffered losses of 3-points or less to Notre Dame (4), Georgetown (11), St. John's (16) and Providence (75). Two wins there probably would have pushed SU within the top 100, despite a weak non-conference slate that has kept its strength of schedule rating at 188. SU still can improve its lot with games pending against West Virginia (14), Rutgers (22), DePaul (24) and Marquette (33). Oh, they also face world-beater UConn (1) on Feb. 24 in the Carrier Dome, but don't bet on a win there.

And we quote: “Um, when you ask Geno (Auriemma) that question, what does he say, ‘We have a girl with a French braid that is a little bit crooked’ or ‘(assistant coach) Shea Ralph needs to wear higher heels.’ I mean, what the heck?” -- Pitt coach Agnus Berenato when asked whether Connecticut’s basketball team has any flaws. The Panthers became UConn’s 60th straight victim Saturday, losing 98-56.